If there's a group of Bookcrossers who are planning on making a bid for Hong Kong in 2021, let them make the announcement for themselves. It seems a little unfair to steal their thunder.

Unless, of course, you're one of the people planning the bid, in which case, go right ahead and announce away!

Well, she is part of the committee, so she's not stealing the thunder.However, we are talking about 3 years away, and a lot of things can happen, or not. It's a whole year away from submitting the bid, and I guess till the stars get more aligned and pieces fall into place, it is no good getting too excited before an official announcement.

However, it will be great if we can finally have a BC con in Asia. Way overdue!

.... and we‘re glad and furiously happy about the 2019 Mainz and 2020 Gold Coast convention. We can be lucky to have people to organize the conventions. It‘s a hard, hard work to make many people happy. It‘s a pleasure to have such people- so let themselve the fun and the satisfaction for announcing this - if it comes true oneday. And whereever...😊

Sadly not Hong Kong yet. Our moving plan is delayed and I didn't get to visit Hong Kong at all since Bordeaux... I tried researching online but didn't find any good venue yet and until I live there and can get more contacts and connections I am hesitate to submit a bid.

No, I'm afraid not.2021 will be the 20th anniversary of Bookcrossing so it is a special year to celebrate. If anyone is thinking they might be able to give it a go there are people who have organised conventions in the past who would be more than willing to pass on what they have learnt. We can't let the wonderful international fun die out....can we?

would be cool for the 20th anniversary, but I don't know if there are enough avid BookCrossers there to organize it.

Sandpoint is a rather tricky place to get to. Although, keeping it in Idaho would be achievable. Boise would be more accessible with many direct flights to here from the likes of LA, San Fran, Portland, San Diego, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Salt Lake and also Denver - which are a good spread of where most people would fly in from, from international destinations.

Australia and New Zealand have been running joint Unconventions in alternate years. For the past few years we have been selecting places where none of us live, but are attractive, and set up for tourists.

Last year's Uncon in Hobart, for example. None of us live there, and the closest - in fact the only - BookCrosser on the organising team lived over a thousand kilometres away.

Next year's Convention on the Gold Coast. It takes me thirteen hours of driving time from my home in Canberra. And I'm the closest member of the organising team.

Granted, we'll have helpers in nearby Brisbane, but the Gold Coast is a place we have all been to - I have close family living there and went to school there for a time - and our only real problem was finding the venue, which took us about an hour of online research to make a provisional booking.

I cannot see why something similar can't be done for 2021. If a group of BookCrossers know a place very well, they don't need to be physically present walking the streets. In this day, most popular tourist destinations have extensive online resources.

Last night on the way home from a very pleasant dinner with some of the Mainz organising committee, Macaufan and I discussed the possibility of a city in a country foreign to both of us, but a wonderful destination, reasonably close for both Europeans and Americans.

I think it would work, and be very popular. It would certainly be a shame for there not to be an Annual Convention to celebrate twenty years of this hobby we know and love.

If anybody wants to put forward a bid on those lines, then think seriously about it.

For myself, I have been attending these conventions for nearly fifteen years now as a freeloader, and it is time for me to give back a little. I am more than happy to do so. BookCrossing has been such a joyful part of my life for so long.

Yep, we are trying to figure out who is behind nick TeamFinland2021 - no confessions yet from the most probable culprits (ApoloniaX included). Where is Miss Marple when you most need her?😀ApoloniaX, your Finnish is improving fast!

I know the idea of organising a Convention might be a bit frightening but as others have already kindly pointed out , you don’t have to do all on your own.there are lots of Bookcrossers around the world including me who would love to help

Up to now it has been, and I know there has been previous push back to have conventions around the anniversary of when the site was set up. When the founders came to the conventions it was nice to have the connection to the date, but that hasn’t happened for a very long time. conventions are organised by volunteers and have had no formal support. If volunteers want to create a convention during their countries spring/summer than there is no rule stating they can not.

conventions are organised by volunteers and have had no formal support. If volunteers want to create a convention during their countries spring/summer than there is no rule stating they can not.

There is no such rule, but it would probably not be fair to call it the International BC Anniversary Convention, seeing as it doesn't happen around the anniversary.And there is a form of support: the BC Supply Store shows up at most Anniversary Conventions and if that can't happen a box of stuff will usually be sent over.

By the way. Bruce made a virtual appearance in Mainz by means of Skype.

It's true that the Conventions are organised by the members. But they're not fully separated from BookCrossing as an organisation, no matter how we define that.

I believe at this point insisting it has to happen in a certain month is beginning to border on strange, the international conventions are a voluntary spin off of this site.

I would add that having the convention in April and the UK uncon in Sept/Oct, means I can often attend both which I might not be able to do if they were closer together. However, I don't know when other uncons are or if this is a consideration for other bookcrossers.

Up to now it has been, and I know there has been previous push back to have conventions around the anniversary of when the site was set up. When the founders came to the conventions it was nice to have the connection to the date, but that hasn’t happened for a very long time. conventions are organised by volunteers and have had no formal support. If volunteers want to create a convention during their countries spring/summer than there is no rule stating they can not.

I second that - and I think it would be great to have in mind the condition in the particular country

Up to now it has been, and I know there has been previous push back to have conventions around the anniversary of when the site was set up. When the founders came to the conventions it was nice to have the connection to the date, but that hasn’t happened for a very long time. conventions are organised by volunteers and have had no formal support. If volunteers want to create a convention during their countries spring/summer than there is no rule stating they can not.

But how about a little later in the year when it's a bit warmer? Remembering chilly Oslo and comments I heard. Nothing negative about Oslo, except some would have preferred a bit warmer weather.

Gothenburg had a lovely weather, sunny and warm! If the convention had taken place in Finland this year, you would have had the same kind of sunny weekend. Then again, it can SNOW in Finland around Midsummer and the grass can be green at Christmas, so you can never be really sure when it comes to weather around here. But that's part of the adventure, I'd say, facing different seasons in different countries!

But how about a little later in the year when it's a bit warmer? Remembering chilly Oslo and comments I heard. Nothing negative about Oslo, except some would have preferred a bit warmer weather.

Gothenburg had a lovely weather, sunny and warm! If the convention had taken place in Finland this year, you would have had the same kind of sunny weekend. Then again, it can SNOW in Finland around Midsummer and the grass can be green at Christmas, so you can never be really sure when it comes to weather around here. But that's part of the adventure, I'd say, facing different seasons in different countries!

As I remember, the weather was sunny and nice during the convention in Oslo (ok, the snow arrived on Monday). When it comes to the weather - especially in the Nordic countries - you never now. It can be a nice spring, and a rainy and chilly summer. If warm and nice weather is a must, the Nordic countries would be excluded for arranging the Convention.

If warm and nice weather is a must, the Nordic countries would be excluded for arranging the Convention.

AND Germany, because the weather was quite awful in Mainz. In fact I think it might have been warmer and less rainy in Finland on that weekend ;)I guess those who can't be anywhere without guaranteed sun & heat will just have to settle for Gold Coast!

But how about a little later in the year when it's a bit warmer? Remembering chilly Oslo and comments I heard. Nothing negative about Oslo, except some would have preferred a bit warmer weather.

We have a saying in Norway: There's no bad weather, just bad clothing.

Chilly weather isn't a problem if you dress accordingly. ;-)

But for people from warm weather, we don't know how to "dress accordingly". It took me a while to figure out that when I was cold in cold weather, it's not because I'm so weak but because the winter clothes that I buy in warm places are only for looks. The real clothes designed for people in cold weather has little features that help keep body heat in and cold air out, designed for utility rather than style. Even shoes too...

Of course nowadays we can go online and shop. But I tried to make do with what I have already, not wanting to buy pricey things I'd use once a year or less, figuring if I bring all my thick clothes and layer them one on top of the other it would work, but sadly it didn't. : (

Layers should be the answer as warm air is trapped between each layer. The base layer should take moisture away from your skin, so no cotton. The mid layer is the important one to provide insulation, micro-fleeces, merino wool tops, breathable fleece or thin insulated jackets, and an outer layer to protect you from the wind and rain - waterproof and breathable if possible. Using a layering system will allow you to self regulate your own body temperature as you feel necessary.

I live in Scotland so, yes, I do need it more than others here but I don't spend a lot of money. I find if my extremities are warm I'm OK - feet. hands and ears. I often go out walking and need to remove my gloves and hat because I'm too hot.

Azuki: one of the secrets of staying warm is head, hands and feet. (A fave rock band had that same name...but I digress...) Once you've figured out what kind of jacket/sweater works, make sure you also have a hat, mitts or gloves and shoes that are sturdy (thick-soled to keep pavement chill away from your feet) with good treads (in case it's a bit slippery - i.e. rain may fall, then freeze) - and make sure your footwear won't get soaked in rain, sleet or snow. Hiking boots work well - i.e. Merrell, Keen, or Blundstones, or any other heavier type of footwear. I don't mean those great, big mountain climbing kind of boots, I mean ones for rugged walking/hiking. Running shoes/lighter shoes on a warm day are OK, but they are terrible in cold and/or wet weather, and have no grip on slippery roads/sidewalks. I used to be amazed at how teen-agers walked around Toronto in the winter, no boots, no hat, no gloves, and wearing just a hoodie and Vans. I think it was so they'd look "cool", but they must have been miserable!

But how about a little later in the year when it's a bit warmer? Remembering chilly Oslo and comments I heard. Nothing negative about Oslo, except some would have preferred a bit warmer weather.

We have a saying in Norway: There's no bad weather, just bad clothing.

Chilly weather isn't a problem if you dress accordingly. ;-)

But for people from warm weather, we don't know how to "dress accordingly". It took me a while to figure out that when I was cold in cold weather, it's not because I'm so weak but because the winter clothes that I buy in warm places are only for looks. The real clothes designed for people in cold weather has little features that help keep body heat in and cold air out, designed for utility rather than style. Even shoes too...

Of course nowadays we can go online and shop. But I tried to make do with what I have already, not wanting to buy pricey things I'd use once a year or less, figuring if I bring all my thick clothes and layer them one on top of the other it would work, but sadly it didn't. : (

My hot tips is layers. Even I do that. I don't do wool, down, fur, etc., but layers are good.

But for people from warm weather, we don't know how to "dress accordingly". It took me a while to figure out that when I was cold in cold weather, it's not because I'm so weak but because the winter clothes that I buy in warm places are only for looks. The real clothes designed for people in cold weather has little features that help keep body heat in and cold air out, designed for utility rather than style. Even shoes too...

Of course nowadays we can go online and shop. But I tried to make do with what I have already, not wanting to buy pricey things I'd use once a year or less, figuring if I bring all my thick clothes and layer them one on top of the other it would work, but sadly it didn't. : (

My hot tips is layers. Even I do that. I don't do wool, down, fur, etc., but layers are good.

I'm often travelling through different climate zones, and yes, the layers thing works well. Being from Canberra, I have a range of warm clothing, but I can't cram all of that into my luggage and cart it around the world.

So long as there is a wind-proof, water-proof outside layer, what goes underneath can be one layer or a hundred.

Hot tip: arrive early and hunt through thrift shops. In the tourist destinations, travellers will often discard bulky winter clothes they don't want to lug home. You can pick up a greatcoat for a song, and leave it behind when you fly out.

I generally leave something behind in the taxi to the airport. A book, an article of clothing, a bottle of something nice, a passport…

Hey! I bought Marimekko napkins in Mainz - the exact same pattern/colour as the Finland Team logo. (I have a thing for Marimekko) Hmmmm....Apolonia...is that you? The suspense is killing me - it's worse than a Peter Robinson murder mystery! :)